STARKVILLE — Thursday night brought with it unfamiliar territory for Mississippi State women’s soccer during this 2023 season.
The Bulldogs, despite conceding a goal in the opening match of the season, had yet to trail in any of their four matches so far.
That was until Iowa scored within the first 10 minutes of Thursday’s match, a perfectly placed shot from Shae Doherty into the top right corner.
Mississippi State had chances of its own to equalize and get right back into the match, but those came up empty as the Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season, a 1-0 shutout in Starkville.
“That was an SEC game right there,” head coach James Armstrong said. “That was 100 percent an SEC game. The SEC is a physical league, quick transitions, fast-paced. That’s exactly what that game was. What a great way to do that before conference play.”
Coming into Thursday, Mississippi State (3-1-1) knew what to expect against Iowa, a physical team coming from one of the most physical conferences across all sports in the country in the Big Ten.
That physicality was on full display early as the Hawkeyes (4-0) were not shy about their more aggressive style of play.
The Bulldogs knew what was coming, but at times, it was incredibly tough to stay with Iowa.
“It was better in the second half than in the first half,” Armstrong said. “I felt that we were a little bit shocked when we first came out. We knew it was going to be a physical game. We knew that first and second balls were going to be important. … We moved some things around the second half and I thought we were the better team.”
Mississippi State had its chances; numerous chances in the first half, too.
A great shot from sophomore Maggie Wadsworth was saved by Iowa keeper Macy Enneking that would have otherwise gone top bins, a ground cross right to Aitana Martinez-Montoya in front of goal that she misconnected on, and another Wadsworth shot hit the crossbar.
However, the second half was a much more clinical half for the Bulldogs, opening up the field, getting another midfielder on to push the ball up more, and a relentless effort on Iowa’s 18-yard box.
“Second half, with the change in formation, I think we realized that hey, we need to wake up, we need to get going,” goalkeeper Maddy Anderson said. “They keep punching us in the mouth and we just have to punch back and I think we had more fight, more hunger to score.”
The lone difference in the end was a perfectly-placed ball into the back of the net for the Hawkeyes, one that Mississippi State couldn’t muster despite great chances late.
This match, like Armstrong said, had all the making of a Southeastern Conference match, just in non-conference play, and this Sunday against Miami could very well be the same.
The Hurricanes have earned two scoreless draws against a pair of SEC powers in Florida and the reigning conference champion, Alabama, and coming into Starkville on a four-match winless drought, they’ll be looking to come out with a win.
“All-around, it wasn’t our best soccer, but there’s a lot to learn from this game,” Anderson said. “This was great to learn from and I think we just have to go back to the drawing board in practice before Miami.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion